Tag Archives: noah

Who is the Oldest Son?

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An interesting translation discrepancy arises in Genesis 10:21 regarding the question of who was the oldest son of Noah, Shem or Japheth. It’s peculiar how some modern English versions of Genesis 10:21 state that Shem was the older brother of Japheth, while others, including the King James Version, claim that Japheth is the elder. The Hebrew text has the word gadol (גָּדֽוֹל), meaning “big” or “highest,” next to Japheth, whereas the NASB lexicon places it before Japheth, next to Shem. Which is it, Japhet or Shem? A similar issue arises with Abraham and his brothers; examining both will help us understand this. 

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Ham’s Sin Against Noah

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When most people encounter the story of Noah and Ham, they typically hold a single view of what happened. Ham looked at Noah naked and mocked him, and Noah became angry and cursed his son, Canaan. However, the Hebrew text used phrases that were consistently used elsewhere in scripture as euphemisms for something more nefarious. This leads to other possible interpretations that reveal why the punishment for Canaan was so harsh.

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Cherub and Noah’s Ark

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I came across an interesting concept regarding the Cherubim that surround God’s throne and Noah’s Ark. It’s not a particularly important theological point, but I found it interesting either way. Noah had three categories of animals on his Ark along with his family. Unclean land animals (carnivores, scavengers, certain kinds of herbivores), clean land animals (herbivores, with specific anatomy), and flying creatures both clean and unclean (Genesis 7:2-3). This representation depicts the four cherubim.

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